Thermic siphon and method of making the same



Feb. 21, 1933. WY sc 1,898,052

THERMIC SIPHON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 27, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet l ITfireTLE);

Feb. 21, 1933. w HINSCH 1,898,052

THERMIC SIPHON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 27 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 21, 1933 KINETEE) STATES PATENT OFFICEWALTER H. HINSGH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO LOCOMOTIVE FIREBOXGOM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE THERMICSIPHON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Application filed May 27,

This invention relates to improvements in th rmic siphons and method ofmaking the same and it consists of the matters thereinafter describedand more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The term siphon as employed herein, designates aflat, hollow,substantially triangular structure or element particularly adapted foruse in locomotive type of boiler fireboxes for increasing the watercirculaion and steameiiiciency thereof. Such a siphon is fully shown anddescribed in U. S. Letters Patent #1337520 of April 20, 1920 granted toJohn L. Nicholson. It generally includes a tubular bottom portion whichterminates in a tubular extension or neck adapted for connection to theinner throat sheetof the firebox, and a fiat hollow body with anelongated discharge mouth which opens through the crown sheet of thefirebox.

Heretofore it has been the practice in making such siphons to first cuta single sheetof metal into pattern shape so that when folded along itsmedian line and otherwise operated upon and flanged to siphon form, itwas welded along the proper meeting edges, which edges were disposed inthe median plane of the finished siphon.

in this manner of making the siphons, great care had to be exercisedbecause of the ime, labor and material costs involved. Again each sizeof siphon required special templets and patterns and this materiallyincreased the cost of manufacture and made the production of each sizeof siphon a special job so to speak.

T he primary object of the invention is to provide an improved siphon ofthis kind and method of making the same, wherein the cost of productionis greatly decreased by a saving in time and material and a siphon isproduced wherein the lines of welding are removed from those pointssubject to the greatest buckling strains and stresses and can beadvantageously positioned in the flat sur- 1929. Serial No. 366,146.

face thereof which can be more conveniently and strongly stayed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a siphon which may beinitially formed in a plurality of sections, capable of being producedby die work and then cut and trimmed to size to provide any desired sizeofsiphon within a practical range. from one of maximum size and thiswithout materially increasing the-total length of line of or disposingsaid line of weld in the planes most effected by strains and stressesnormally tending to rupture them.

The above mentioned objects of the invention as well as others togetherwith the many advantages thereof, will more fully appear as I proceedwith my specification.

In the drawings Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical sectional view througha locomotive firebox, embodying therein a siphon made in accordance withmy invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation on an enlarged scale of a siphonembodying my invention, ready for assembly into a firebox.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View through the same, on an enlargedscale as taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view also on an enlarged scaleas taken on the line 4ei of Fig. 2.

Figs. 5-6 and 7 respectively are perspective views of the several partsor sections of the siphon in an advanced stage of their manufacturedisposed in grouped relation in accordance with the positions they ocupyin a finished siphon.

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the parts shown in Figs. 5 and 6respectively as they are initially formed.

10 is a view in elevation of a length of seamless tubing from which thesiphon part shown in Fig. 7 is made and before any operations have beenperformed thereon.

Fig. 11 is a view in elevation of the tubing shown in Fig. 10 after thefirst step has been performed thereon as by swedging one end thereof toeduce its diameter.

Fig. 12 a view which may be considered as a top plan v'ew of the tubeafter it has been slit longitudinally along the unswedged part thereofand off center with respect to a vertical plane passing through the axisof the tube.

Fig. 13 is a view in side elevation of the tube after it has been openedup along the slit to form upstanding side walls of different heightsthereon. V

Fig. 1% is a vertical sectional view through the tube shown in Fig. 18,as taken on the line 14-4 thereof.

Referring now to the locomotive firebox illustrated in Fig. 1, the samehas a fire chamber which extends from the back sheet 1 to the flue sheet:2 and from one to the other of the side sheets 8, with a grate orbottom indicated by the dotted line 4. Said grate extends from the backsheet to an inner throat sheet 5 which is normally formed the bottomextension of the due sheet 2. The top of the firebox is formed by thetransversely curved crown sheet 6 which extends from back to fiue sheet.The firebox is enclosed by the top plate and usual outer side plates(not shown), and the outer throat plate 8 outer back plate 9 whichprovide the wrapper taerefor. In the plates 1 and 9 respectively, isformed the usual fuel door opening anl to the flue sheet are attachedthe usual lines 10 t irough which the products of combustion are drawnby the usual exhaust nozzle in the smoke box in the manner well known.

The various plates before mentioned, to gether with the fire sheets orwalls of the firebox define the several water legs of the boiler, namelythe front leg or throat 11, side legs, and back water leg 12 all closedat the bottom by the mud ring 13. The inner sheets of t 1e fireboxincluding the crown sheet are joined to or stayed from the outer sheetby means of stay bolts 1%.

lily improved siphon or elementis indicated a whole by the numeral 15,it being understood that one or more of such elements may be located inthe l'3ebor1, the number of course being dependent upon the size of thefirebox. Said element extends longitudinally of tie fireb 2; andnormally occupies an upright position therein.

The siphon as herein shown when considered as an entirety includes anupwardly and rearwardly inclined tubular neck or bottom 16 and aprogressively upwar lly enlarging fiat body portion 1?, having arelatively high or long front end 18 and a relatively low or short rearend 19. The lower front end part of the bottom portion 16 is a closedtube and constitutes the inlet neck 20 for y the siphon which is in openand unobstructed together, the welding usually extending along the topof the neck and. up the front end the body. Yihere the element was cutoff or truncated at its rear end, a line of welding was there provided.When such a siphon was in position in a fiGbOZl, the lines of weldingwere effected by strains and stresses due to erransion and contractionunder temperature changes. Such welding not only sometime gave away butalso presented rough spots or surfaces on the inside of the siphon, inline with the natural flow or passage of water herethrough, and thusformed ideal locations for the initial accumulation of scale andsediment which of course is objectionable.

In making up my improved siphon under the steps of my improved method, 1make the sa'nc in a plurality of parts or sections producible in therough by coacting dies, after which they are trinnned and titted tosize, then flanged and assembled and thereafter welded, the weldingbeing disposed for the greater length upon the flat sides of the elementinstead of upon the rounded ends hereof.

Prefeably I make the siphon in three parts or sections as this numbergives more latitude in trimming and fitting the said parts or sectionsto the desired size. For convenience in referring to the said pa 'ts lhave designated them as the bottom tubular r necl; part (16 the flatbody part (1"!) and rear end part (19) all before mentioned.

In Fig. 10 to l-l inclusive is illustrated the several steps in makingup the bottom tubular or neck part 16. Said part is made from a piece ofseamless steel tubing 23 (see Fig. 10) which is preferably oversize inlength and diameter with respect to the maximum size. of the part to bemade. I first swedge down one end of said tube as at 24 in Fig. 11 tothat diameter required for the inlet neck 20 of the finished siphon,said end being connected to the remainder of the tube as by a taperedportion 25.

Thereafter the other end of the tube is slit longitudinally as at 26(see Fig. 12 which is to be considered as a top plan view) along a lineoffset with respect to avertical plane passing through the axis of thetube. Said slit terminates at its inner end in said plane and adjacentthe swedged down end of the tube. Those portions of the tube on bothsides of the slit are then opened or upset into parallel spaced relationto provide side wall parts 28 and 29 respectively, of different heightsaranged an equal distance on each side of the axis of the tube. Duringthis opening up of said side wall parts the remainder of the tube isreduced in diameter to provide the excess material necesary for saidside walls and also to bring it down to the diameter of the swodged end24, all as best shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The side walls 28 and 29 arespaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of the walls or" the bodyand rear end parts of the finished siphon to be made and as the diameterof the portion 20 is greater than the spacing between the walls 28 and29, it is apparent that lines of fold 30 and 30 develop along each sidethereof.

During this opening up of said side walls, the point 27 moves radiallyaway from the axis of the tube and this point is gradually merged intothe top side of the swedged end portion 24 thereof as by a roundedcorner or curve 31.

In making up the body 17, I provide apiece of boiler plate of desiredshape and size and fold it along its median line to form a substantiallyU shaped blank having a rounded end 32 and side walls 33 and 34respectively as best shown in Fig. 9. In this respect the blank ishigher at its front or rounded end than it is at its rear end, so thatthe bottom edges of the side walls converge toward the plane of the topedges of said walls, which top edges are disposed at substantially arightangle with respect to the rounded front end thereof. Thereafter thetop marginal portions of said side walls and rounded end wall are turnedover outwardly to form a flange 35 thereon as best shown in Fig. 6. Insuch a partly finished body blank the side walls are of the same shapeand area so that they may be trimmed to desired dimensions. Preferablyin the trimming of said partly finished body blank, I cut 015? the rearend margin and the bottom margin of one side wall, so that it becomes ofa lesser area as indicated by the dotted lines 36 in Fig. 6 whereby therear end and bottom marginal edges of the other wall is offsetrearwardly beyond and also below the like edges of the trimmed 0E sidewall. In trimming off the bottom margin of the side wall 34, therelative heights of the side walls 28 and 29 of the bottom tubularportion are taken into consideration so that the walls 33 and 34 willmatch up therewith.

In making up the shorter rear end part or section 19, I take a piece ofboiler plate of desired shape and size and by means of coacting diesform it into approximately a triangular shaped blank such as shown inFig. 8 open at its top and front and closed at its rear and bottom. Sucha blank includes side walls 37 and 38 respectively connected I turn thetop marginal parts of the side walls 37 and 38 and of the rear wall 39over and outwardly to provide a flange 42 there about as shown in Fig.5. Thereafter I cut away the front end portion of the side wall 37 asindicated by the dotted line 43 in said Fig.

5 so that the offset between the front edges of the walls 37 and 38match up with" the offset between the rear edge of the walls 33 and 34of the body 18. In thus cutting away of the front end marginal part ofthe Wall 37, the portion 43 thereof is cut at less than a right angle tomatch up with'the rear end of thefibottom tubular portion, which istrimmed to t.

With all of said parts trimmed to fit and match up with one another,they are then assembled in grouped relation and secured together bylines of welding 44 and 45. In this respect it is pointed out that thesaid lines of welding are not disposed at the end portion of the siphonbut are all on flat surfaces, the only weld ona rounded portion beingwhere the weld crosses the rear end of the bottom tubular portion andthe portion 41 of the rear end part 19. Thus no welding is located inthe plane of the ends of the siphon which plane is disposed in the lineof greatest stresses and strains. 1

After the parts have been thus welded, they are drilled through from oneside to the other with the aid of a drilling templet after which thevarious walls are connected together by stay bolts 46. It is to be notedfrom Fig. 2 that the offset rear end portion of the side walls 33 and 34of the body are connected to the ofl'set front end portion of the sidewalls 37 and 38 by means of two rows of stay bolts while the ofisetbottom ends of said walls 33 and 34 are connected to the ofiset sidewalls 28 and 29 of the bottom tubular portion by a single row of staybolts.

With the several parts initially produced for a maximum size of siphonit is'apparent that such a siphon or a smaller one can be producedtherefrom after the desired dimensions are known, by cutting andtrimming down the several parts. Thus each new siphon to be made doesnot require special patterns, and templets and forming machines but maybe made up from parts of maximum size trimmed to fit and all inaccordance and upon machines now found in modern boiler temperaturechanges.

shops. Therefore the cost of production is lowered and a better siphonis produced and one wherein the lines of welding are unaffected bycontraction and expansion due to While in describing the invention, Ihave referred in detail to the form, construction and arrangement of thevarious parts, as Well as to the several steps in making up a siphon,the same is to be considered merely as illustrative so that I do notwish to be limited thereto except as may be specially set forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. The method of making a thermic siphon whichconsists in providing a tubular portion having laterally spaced sidewalls and a transversely rounded bottom, providing at least two bodysections each including laterally spaced side walls, trimming end andbottom portions of said side walls of each body section to fit the likewalls of said tubular section and also to iit each other to make themmatch and then securing the matched edges of the several sectionstogether.

2. The method of making a thermic siphon which consists in providing atubular portion having laterally spaced side Walls and a transverselyrounded bottom, providing at least two body sections each includinglaterallyspaced side walls, trimming end and bottom portions of saidside walls of each body section to lit the like walls of said tubularsection and also to fit each other to make them match, welding thematched edges of the said sections together and then stayboltingopposite walls of said sections together.

3. The method of making a thermic siphon which consists in providing abottom tubular section with upstanding side walls and a body section andrear end section also having side walls, trimming all of said side wallsto make their edges match, bringing said matched edges together incompleted siphon relation and then welding said matched edges.

l. The method of making a thermic siphon which consists in providin abottom tubular section with upstanding side walls and a body section andrear end section also having side walls, trimming all of said side wallsto make their edges match, bringing said matched edges together incompleted siphon relation, welding said matched edges together, formingregistering holes in said side walls and then applying staybolts in saidholes.

The step in the method of making the nose part of a thermic siphon whichconsists in forming a sheet to provide a member having spaced side wallswhich are connected to gether at the bottom and at one end by roundedportions with a bulge formed in the rounded bottom.

6. The step in the method of making a thermic siphon which consists informing a metal sheet into a U shape with side walls of

